Beautiful Contradiction
by HarleyQuinn4242
Summary: A collection of USUK oneshots. Two: Look at the Stars. It wasn't love at first sight. No matter how handsome, one couldn't fall in love with a loud, ridiculous, obnoxious American at first sight. So no, not love at first sight, but maybe it was something close.
1. Broken

**Chapter 1: Broken**

**Summary: Arthur, a man about to make the worst decision of his life. Alfred, the only one stubborn enough to change his mind. It was luck that brought them together, but it's love that will tear them apart.**

**Warnings: Language. **

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_I wanted you to know, that I love the way you laugh._

_I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away._

_I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well._

_I wanna hold you high, and steal your pain,_

_Because I'm broken, when I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right, when you're gone away._

_You've gone away... You don't feel me here anymore..._

The first time I met him, he saved my life.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

I glanced back from my perch on the edge with glazed, emotionless green eyes, only for them to widen at the sight before me.

"What the hell man?! Get away from there!"

I stood still, my eyes slowly coming back into focus on the man before me.

"Dude are you deaf?!" It was at that moment strong hands yanked me back into reality, and away from my position teetering on a cliff side.

I could see the man's mouth still moving, but the words flew over my head. I was too lost in his beauty.

The man before me was tall, about half a head over me, and dressed simply in jeans and a bomber jacket, glasses teetering on the edge of his nose. But it wasn't his wardrobe that stunned me, it was his beautiful, baby blue eyes that were full with the freedom of the skies and the vivacity of the ocean, framed by golden locks that were being ruffled askew by the wind. He was gorgeous and vivid, and slowly his beautiful face was turning red as he began to shout. I decided it might be best to tune in at that moment.

"-and you can't just _do_ that! Why would you throw your own life away?! You're lucky a hero like me was here to stop you! Whatever it is isn't that bad! You have to keep living!"

As the man, now identified as an American by his accent, continued to shout in my face, I felt something stir within me that I hadn't felt in months.

Life.

And with that came a familiar feeling of anger.

"Shut up you bloody git! I have nothing to live for, no one to live for! Everyone is gone! You have no idea what my life is like, and I can do whatever I well please with it!"

The American paused for a moment, taken aback by my sudden outburst, before biting back with even more ferocity than before.

"No you can't! You _have_ to live! You have no idea how important your life is!"

Now it was my turn to be taken aback by the absolute conviction in his voice and the heat from those pools of blue. I glanced away from the intensity of his gaze, instead choosing to look at the waters far below where I had been standing moments ago as I muttered back to him.

"It doesn't feel important to me."

There was a moment of tense silence, the only sounds being there trees rustling in the wind and the waters crashing below us, before the man spoke up again with a new determination.

"Then I'll just have to show you. Meet me here tomorrow."

And then he began to stride away into the woods, just like that. I only stood, watching after him in utter confusion as his words registered, before a thought struck me.

"Wait! What's your name?"

The American paused at the edge of the woods, tossing back his name casually before striding on.

"Alfred F. Jones."

I merely stared after Alfred for a moment, before glancing back to the cliff. I stared for a long while at the rocky, gray waters at the bottom, and then walked towards the small forest path that had led me here.

After all, Alfred didn't know my name.

_The worst is over now, and we can breathe again._

_I wanna hold you high; you steal my pain away._

The second, third, fourth, and many other times I met Alfred, he brought me back to life, ironically all at the cliff where I had been planning to take it when we first met. He began to draw my story from me, the story of brothers lost to the war, the story of a disappearing dad, the story of an alcoholic mother. And in turn, he told me the story of his cancer lost brother, of his jobless state, of his gone parents.

"You're far braver than I ever will be Alfred." I broke one of our rare quiet moments on a clear, sunny day at the cliff.

Alfred rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, letting loose a small laugh.

"No I'm not Arthur, you're totally the strong one! I mean, I'm the hero, but you're cool too!" I couldn't suppress a smile at his statement, but I kept my piercing green gaze on him in sincerity.

"I mean it Alfred. I came to this place to quit the world, never considering that others had it just as bad. It was selfish, and you're far stronger than I ever will be for realizing that and even saving me from that." I paused, looking away from him for a moment with a light blush as I spoke again. "You really are a hero."

Alfred blinked once, a shocked expression on his open face, before looking away just as I had with a small frown.

"Arthur, I'm only a hero for you."

_There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight._

_I wanna hold you high, and steal your pain away,_

The next time I met Alfred, all the pieces finally came together for me.

"No seriously! The fifth burger is when you break the limit and can just keep going!"

I furrowed my prominent brows and scoffed at his wide grin.

"Alfred, I refuse to try and eat more than one burger in a sitting, especially if they're from that disgusting McDonalds!"

He pouted at me, turning his puppy dog look up to the max power.

"Aww, come on Iggy, it's not any worse than nasty British food!" At this statement my temper flared to life.

"British food is of much higher quality than anything McDonalds serves! Only a bloody American would think otherwise!" I sniffed, turning in the grass I was seated on to face away from Alfred.

"Iggy!" I remained facing the opposite way. "C'mon Arthur, you know you love me!"

I flushed up to my ears at that statement, and I heard a slight cough from Alfred as I slowly turned to face him. He was blushing just as hard as me, but he maintained a level stare into my eyes, causing my heart to race in my chest. Slowly Alfred leaned in, pausing mere millimeters before my face.

"Arthur." I shuddered at the way my name slid out from his lips. "I love you."

I pushed him away at those words, my gentle shove only enough to move him back because he let me, my heart cracking in my chest.

"No. Don't say that. Don't you dare say that." I felt every past hurt, every abandonment building on my chest until I couldn't breathe and a crushing fear enter my heart, but Alfred continued, pushing back against my hand.

"But I do. I love your temper. I love your smile. I love your laugh." I began to cry, but Alfred just gently brushed the tears away and continued, taking my face into his hands so I'd have to look into his sincere blue eyes. "Arthur, you're worthy. You mean something. I love you."

And then he closed the gap, our lips molding together for the first, but not the last, time.  
I clung to him, and a new form of life filling me as we kissed. Passion, and love like I never felt before coursed through me.

Slowly, I felt myself getting put back together, the pieces falling into place. And with this, I felt the long ache that had for so long been all I'd known fade away in place of happiness.

"So this is what people live for."

I never saw his brow wrinkle at the whispered words.

'_Cause I'm broken, when I'm open._

_And I don't feel like, I am strong enough._

'_Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right, when you're gone away._

The final time I met Alfred, he ripped my heart out.

"Arthur, I have to leave."

It was as though someone had poured ice water into my blood, cold flooding my system.

"What do you mean?" My voice was small, trembling, even though currently all I could process being was numb.

Alfred sighed, his shoulders hunched with a look of defeat I'd never seen on the sparky American before.

"Don't freak out, okay?" I felt the beginnings of a freak out at that, but nodded at him anyways. "Arthur. Two days before I met you, I jumped off this cliff."

I blinked, once, twice, before speaking.

"Alfred, this is not amusing." I was getting angry now to hide the hurt and the small inklings of fear beginning, glowering at the love of my life, my hero.

Alfred stared back at me, no measure of humor in his expression, before speaking up again, his voice half pleading and half pushing.

"Arthur, I was going to warn you sooner, but how could I? I lingered at this spot for two days, filled with regret that kept me here, and then I saw the sad man by the cliff who had the same face I used to make. I knew I had to help him, so how could I tell him that the hero was already a victim?" I felt my heart crack, and old wound reopen at his words. "And then I loved you, but I knew I could never let you think you could throw your life away. I never wanted to leave, but I knew that as soon as I helped you, I would have to go."

Now I began to shake my head, stumbling up to Alfred and clutching onto him as though to hold him here forever.

"You can't go! I need you!" I was shouting, but there was no anger now. "You saved me!"

Alfred gave a shaky sigh, unwinding my arms from around him. I merely fell to the ground in shock, watching the strongest person I knew tear up.

"Arthur. Do you think I want to do this? I don't want to leave, but I have no more regret. I tried, but how can I regret saving the one I love? And you have to live now, for the both of us." Alfred stepped back, closer to the cliff edge, and farther from me.

"No! Alfred F. Jones, don't you dare step away from me! You can't leave me alone! I love you! I have nothing without you!" I was sobbing now, desperately grasping after him with pale, shaking hands.

Alfred stepped up to the very edge, only looking back at me once.

"You have life, and you better live it. I love you." And then he stepped off.

I lunged after him, fully ready to jump, but something stopped me at the edge of that windy cliff.

Life.

I couldn't waste this life, given back to me by one so wonderful.

So I sobbed at the edge of the cliff, clutching at the ache spot in my chest as I gazed into the clear waters below me, no sign of anyone there.

Yes, Alfred F. Jones ripped out my heart, but at least he made it start to beat.

'_Cause I'm broken, when I'm open._

_And I don't feel like, I am strong enough._

'_Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right, when you're gone away._

'_Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right, when you're gone away._

_You've gone away… You don't feel me here anymore…_

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**A/N: I know! I know! I should be updating for other things, but I couldn't help it! This plot just slapped me across the face and I had to write it! Because USUK for life! Also I was thinking about making a story of USUK oneshots, not all sad like this one, so let me know what you think about that... Anyways, thanks for reading lovelies, I hope you liked it! **

**Word Count: 2,001**

**P.S. My OCD makes me hate that one extra word... **


	2. Look at the Stars

**Chapter 2: Look at the Stars**

**Summary: It wasn't love at first sight. No matter how handsome, one couldn't fall in love with a loud, ridiculous, obnoxious American at first sight. So no, not love at first sight, but maybe it was something close.**

**Warnings: Eh. None really.**

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I watched as a small puff of fog snaked in front of my eyes with an exhale, an unnecessary reminder of just how cold England could be in the middle of winter. Somehow just the sight of the small cloud made me feel even more frigid, causing me to curl a little deeper into my sweater and shift my nose under the front of my somewhat scratchy scarf. I smiled underneath the rough warmth, reveling in the winter silence on what was normally a busy street in my little town.

Wait. Silence.

My green eyes slowly slid to the right, taking in the empty spot next to me on the sidewalk. Feeling the simmer of annoyance, I pulled down my scarf to speak.

"Keep up you bloody frog!"

I whipped around to find the absent Frenchman, scowling under my prominent brows at the sight of him whispering into the ear of a young man who appeared to be growing more and more flustered with every word out of the frog's mouth.

"Francis stop flirting with the lad and hurry up you git!" Francis finally pulled away at my call, pausing to lock eyes with his newest victim for a long moment, before he languidly made his way over to me, leaving the young man to stare after him with wide eyes.

"Ah, you need to loosen up and learn the ways of l'amour mon Angleterre." Francis' dreamy look slowly morphed into his usual lecherous smirk, blue eyes glittering at me tauntingly. "After all, I'm sure it be much more pleasant to have the stick up your ass replaced by something else. I could help with that, honhonho-"

I cut Francis', as I preferred to call it, rape laugh off with a firm slap upside the head, my face reddening with a mixture of rage and embarrassment at the Frenchman's words and my green eyes flashing angrily.

"Shut your mouth Frog! I'll have you know I'm sufficiently versed in the ways of romance and have no need of your assistance with the matter! I swear sometimes I question why I still speak to you." I folded my arms, my green glare daring Francis to retort.

But of course, being friends as long as Francis and I have been tends to take the edge off of most of my intimidation. Either that or the pink, homemade gloves Mother sent in the mail. Probably the gloves.

"Oh really? Then I'm certain you won't mind a trip to the park tonight." Francis allowed the words to lilt out innocently in his French accent, but the look in his eyes was screaming a challenge.

I bit back a curse, glancing at the sun slowly setting over the tips of old buildings, knowing what the coming night meant combined with the park.

Every year, starting five days before Christmas and ending five days after, our small town held dances under the stars made for both the locals and anyone passing through to enjoy. Admittedly it was one of the few attractions this town held. Despite it being one of the few reasons our town was still on the map, every year I avoided them like the plague. Don't get me wrong, I was perfectly fine with dances (I did, after all, invest in proper lessons), but these were different. The whole purpose of these dances was for strangers to meet up and dance, and I wasn't exactly keen on dancing with a random stranger, despite the theme supposedly promoting holiday related cheer and kindness.

So I was about to open my mouth and tell Francis where he could shove his challenge, but then he just had to speak up.

"Unless mon Angleterre is afraid?"

Well. That sealed it then.

"Let's go Frog." I leaned forward and snatched Francis' green scarf, using it to drag him away, taking immense satisfaction in the choked sound that fell from his throat at the action.

I walked blindly in the direction of the park in an unfocused but directed way only one who has lived in a place for years can achieve, my thoughts more focused on my upcoming dilemma than the path beneath me. Despite my outward confidence towards the Frenchman, I was more than a bit nervous about the park. While I'd had my fair share of dates in the past, they were always with someone familiar, someone I knew very well. I was rather picky about dates to be quite frank, so being expected to just pick someone to dance with was rather intimidating.

But the frog couldn't know that.

I was jarred from my inner pep talk by the soft sounds of music thrumming in the night air. I came back to myself with a start at the gentle strums of guitar lilting around me, my eyes darting as I tried to spot the dance through the densely packed trunks surrounding the park. All I could focus on, despite my best efforts, was the faint glow of lights in the distance. Scowling now with determination, I began to walk faster towards the lights, ignoring Francis' wheeze as the action pulled more on the scarf in my grip.

And then I rounded that last bend in my path and saw it.

Twinkling lights had been strung between the trees surrounding the park, forming a ceiling of sparkling light. There were several tables surrounding the main dancing area, each holding softly whispering couples and ivy-draped chairs. The dance floor itself was a slightly raised wooden platform that took up most of the space of the park, overflowing with couples ranging from twirling, elderly couples to awkward young folk who couldn't yet make eye contact while dancing.

It was beautiful.

I was snapped out of my wonder as the scarf in my grip, which had been pulled taut up to this point, went lax. I glanced down, finding the scarf still firmly in my grip, but no Frenchman attached to the end. I looked around for the escaped pervert, feeling very much like someone whose dog had escaped the leash, before spotting him leaning over the same flustered young man from earlier. All it took was the charming smile to slip onto Francis' slightly stubbly face, and the young man allowed himself to be swept off into a dance.

I couldn't help but smile in a fond way that Francis would never see. Really I should've known that he would disappear the moment there was a romantic prospect.

"Ehem." A slight cough came from next to me, and I immediately dropped the smile, my earlier nervousness washing over me once more.

I slowly took a long breath as I turned to face the presence beside me, only to lose it as soon as I did.

He was tall. That was the first thing to register. Then I found myself tugged into twin pools of sky blue, the same shade as a clear summer day. They were currently gazing at me through a pair of glasses, a stray hair flopping over them ever so slightly. As I looked closer, I realized the man before me radiated sunlight and warmth, even in the dead of winter, with his golden hair and glowing grin.

Distantly, I felt my heart thudding heavily in my chest.

"Um…" The man's smile faltered as he took in my silence, and I quickly realized that I was staring.

"Oh!" I flushed lightly at this realization. "Yes?"

The man's smile returned full swing, before he spoke up in a fully confident voice.

"I'm Alfred 'F for Freedom' Jones, American superhero! And you need to dance with me!" I blinked. Once. Twice.

What the hell?

I heard a sharp smacking noise and glanced behind Alfred to see an Albino man facepalming and muttering to himself about "unawesome deviations from the plan" before focusing back on the bright American before me.

"Uh-"

"Arthur would be delighted to dance with an American imbecile such as yourself!" I jumped as Francis gripped onto my shoulders and cut in smoothly, wondering where in the bloody hell he appeared from.

The man really does have a built in romance radar.

"Uh, dude, I have no idea what you said because of your weird accent. But I'll take it as a yes!" I snorted while Francis scoffed behind me at Alfred's words.

Before either of us could respond, I found my hand caught in a warm grip and being tugged towards the dance floor. I stumbled slightly before quickening my steps to match Alfred's longer stride. The next thing I knew I was standing on the dance floor, looking up at Alfred's wide smile with my hands on his shoulders and his on my waist comfortably. I could slowly feel my face turning more and more red as Alfred simply stared into my eyes with that dopey smile on his face. All of the sudden the smile slipped off of his face and a small crease formed between his blond brows as a contemplating look replaced the smile.

"Uh, I don't really know how to dance haha!" Alfred said it so casually with a boisterous laugh that I couldn't help the tick of my brow at his statement.

What kind of guy asks someone to dance without knowing how to dance?

I sighed, not even realizing that his statement put me at ease and took the edge off my nervousness, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Alright then. I'll just have to help you." And so I helped him awkwardly through the first few steps before we slowly settled into an odd little circle motion as the next song began.

_Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you, and all the things you do._

Soft music was floating around us while a mixture of stars and lights flickered above us. Other couples were gently milling about the dance floor, and for just a moment I felt connected to everything and had the odd feeling that maybe this dance thing actually _did _have some value. As I gazed up into Alfred's blue eyes, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face, I couldn't help but feel as though this was a dream.

And then he opened his mouth.

"Man this is pretty cool, but nowhere near as fun as dances in America! Mostly because the food there is so much better than here! British food kind of sucks!" And the dream shattered.

I felt my national pride spring up at the statement, along with my locally famous temper. I stepped back from Alfred, crossing my arms and putting on my sternest expression while the music continued to float in the background.

_Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones turn into something beautiful._

"Excuse me? I'll have you know that British food is of the highest quality!" I scowled, my green eyes daring him to contradict me.

But of course he did. I swear to God it's the pink gloves…

"Yeahhh, no I don't think so. Sorry dude, but England just can't make good food. Not like America! I mean we invented McDonalds!" I felt my mouth drop at his words, which were, by the way, completely serious.

There was a long pause, filled only with the hushed murmurs of other couples and the music.

_I drew a line, I drew a line for you. Oh, what a thing to do._

"Bloody-no! You bloody Americans think you're so special just because you can shoot guns and make a burger, but everyone knows England has a much more refined taste than you Yankee gits ever will! We're actually gentlemen!" I finished my rant by fuming at the bloody American in front of me, arms crossed and my thick brows pulled low.

_D'you know for you I bleed myself dry? For you I bleed myself dry. _

Only Alfred wasn't cowering how I hoped he would. Instead he was staring at me with the most peculiar look on his face, as though he was going to-

I froze as warm, slightly chapped lips covered mine. Alfred held his lips there solidly for a moment, gauging my reaction, before slowly moving against me, his hands resuming their position on my waist. My eyes slowly slid shut against my will, my hands clenching into the fabric of Alfred's bomber jacket. Warmth pitted in my stomach and burst into an explosion of butterflies that reached their peak when his tongue quickly darted across my lips before he pulled away, the music ending just as he did.

_Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and all the things you do…_

Alfred grinned and winked at me while I stood there gaping at him in complete shock.

"Dude, you're cute when you're angry." And then he began sauntering off, disappearing into the crowd of dancers.

I stood there for a full minute after the song ended, a new one taking its place. The couples danced around me, taking no notice of the stunned, short Brit standing shocked in their midst. I stood there until my thoughts caught up to my body.

"That…" I swallowed, rage causing my face to burst into color and my throat to clench. "That bloody git! How- how dare he!"

I began to storm off, shoving dancers out of my way and ignoring the angry remarks, grabbing Francis from where he was, surprisingly without flirting, talking to the Albino from before very amicably. All the while I was both verbally and mentally swearing off of anything American.

And yet, when I found the phone number stuffed into my jacket pocket later, it somehow made its way onto my phone.

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**A/N: Okay, yup, I've decided that since I can't keep the plot bunnies at bay that this is going to be turned into a USUK one shot collection... It'll basically be updated whenever I get inspiration. If anyone has any idea or requests feel free to ask; I'd love to write a request! (: Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Until next time my lovelies! Review!**

**Word Count: 2,277**


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